Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2016)
4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 2, 2016 O PINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Offbeat Oregon History Thanks, Dian Would inventor’s silver steam-powered airship have worked? BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel I ronically enough, it was on the fi rst day of winter — the winter after the 1929 stock-market crash that kicked off the Great Depression — that Oregon inventor Thomas B. Slate’s dream of a business empire built on shiny silver steam-powered airships received its death blow. Slate had left his native state sev- eral years earlier and made a fortune by inventing and commercializing the production of “dry ice” — fro- zen carbon dioxide. Then he’d left, sold his company and moved to Glendale, Calif., to launch a new venture: A nationwide line of pas- senger airships based on a revolu- tionary design he had worked out. At fi rst glance, the design looked ridiculous — like a piece of sci- ence-fi ction hopefulness sketched out by an amateur without the ben- efi t of any scientifi c or engineering knowledge. This initial appearance — together with the fact that Slate was best known for his innovations in dry-ice manufacture rather than for his aeronautical work during the First World War — has fooled more than one observer into assum- ing its inventor was just another rich guy with too much money and not enough knowledge, trying to force the laws of physics to conform to his dreams. The Slate dirigible was shaped like a colossal teardrop, with a big blunt front and a tapering-away tail. A long, streamlined cabin stretched along the bottom, with room for about three-dozen passengers and crew to dwell in comfort and lux- ury during the anticipated 36-hour transcontinental journeys the airship would make. Its hull was made entirely of aluminum, built in strips that were folded together in a specially pat- ented gas-tight manner and riveted in place, with deep symmetrical grooves leading from the nose back to the tail. At the front of the hull, on the tip of the nose, could be seen an improbably tiny, odd-shaped fan or propeller of sorts; at the tail, an equally improbably tiny set of con- trol surfaces — rudder and horizon- tal stabilizers. These elements were at the heart of the revolutionary design that Slate had created. The fan on the front was an impeller — a steam-powered blower that sucked great volumes of air out of the space just ahead of the airship and blasted it out to the sides in a great sheet of wind. This sheet of wind would be drawn to curve around the front of the airship by the venturi effect, creating a cush- ion of moving, partially evacuated air that would suck the hull forward even as it buffered the big airship from atmospheric turbulence. This artifi cial wind would have abated considerably by the time it reached the tail surfaces, but it would still be quite strong enough that only very small ailerons and rudders would be needed. Pipe-dreamy as this plan sounded, it apparently worked fantastically well — at least, it worked fantas- tically well on the scale models Slate had tested in the wind tun- nel at New York University. If the models scaled, Slate reckoned the full-size dirigible would require just 400 horsepower to transport 21,000 pounds of airship, passengers, crew and luggage through the air at up to 100 miles per hour. This propulsion system would make Slate’s design ridiculously cheap to operate. In addition, the sys- tem of offl oading passengers via an elevator car traveling up and down a cable hanging beneath would make it possible to operate with complete independence of airfi elds and other expensive ground infrastructure — except for hangars to park the big things in when not in use. Slate envisioned a nationwide air- line network served with his big sil- ver-teardrop airships shuttling pas- sengers anywhere and everywhere in comfort, luxury and profi tability. And the fi rst step toward that goal was to get his fi rst prototype model into the air so that all the doubters could see that his revolutionary pro- pulsion system would work. So the inventor got busy in his giant blimp shed, working on con- struction of the fi rst model — which, with an eye toward public relations, he dubbed the “City of Glendale.” Throughout the spring, summer and fall of 1929, the City of Glendale took shape. City residents fl ocked to the airfi eld on each of the days when it was taken out and tested. Slate worked tirelessly to get the big air- ship ready for its maiden voyage. As the ship neared its launch date, Slate made a few changes here and there; the high-pressure boiler was giving him trouble, so he left it out and purchased a big radial aircraft engine. It’s not clear whether this was a temporary measure for testing, or if he’d actually given up on steam as a power distribution system. Finally, the big day came. In what would later seem a bitterly ironic twist, it was the fi rst day of winter. But it was a warm day, and a beauti- ful one. Out came the City of Glen- dale, ready to show what it could do. But as the Slate Aircraft Company crews busied themselves getting the big bird ready, the warm Southern California sun was beating down directly on the aluminum hull, and it was warming up. Soon the helium inside was expanding … and it soon became clear that the pressure-re- lease valve had gotten stuck. A sharp, explosive pop rang out. Bystanders ducked; it sounded like a gunshot. And then another, and an- other. Rivets were being torn out of the big dirigible’s hull. And then, with a sigh of escap- ing gas, the City of Glendale settled wearily down onto the tarmac and lay over on its side. Slate was, of course, dismayed. But as yet he had no idea that his dream had just been destroyed. That came when the big dirigible was back in the shop, a week or two later, when he and his construction crews came to a horrible realization: The envelope was not fi xable. Be- cause of the way each piece of alu- minum interlocked with every other piece, the only way to replace the missing rivets and torn strips of alu- minum would be to disassemble the whole thing, like a jigsaw puzzle, and start from scratch. Had Slate used screws instead of rivets, that would have been do-able, although hardly pleasant. But when he’d engineered the big dirigible, he hadn’t even considered the need to periodically repair pieces of the hull. Slate got busy immediately, trying to raise the funds he’d need to build a second model. But the world had changed radically just two months before, on Oct. 29, 1929. The coun- try was just plunging into what would become the Great Depression. Investors had stopped investing and started trying to salvage as much of their nest eggs as they could. There was no money available. Some attempts were made to re- start the project after the disaster. Nothing worked out, though. Final- ly, in 1931, the Slate Aircraft Com- pany fi led for bankruptcy. After the company failed, Slate’s son Claude took the lead in trying to interest others in picking up where his father had left off, even sending a proposal to the U.S. Congress with an eye toward earning a grant. Noth- ing came of this at the time, probably partly because of the counterintui- tive nature of the engineering sys- tems Slate developed. After 1937, reviving the idea became almost an impossibility, as the Hindenberg di- saster had soured almost everyone on the very idea of airship travel. Eventually, Thomas Slate and his family found their way back to Oregon and settled back into life in Slate’s old home town of Alsea. He continued to invent things, and his patent fi lings continued to show a Tesla-like ability to re-imagine and innovate. They included a cy- clone-generating device for remov- ing smog from the air, a radically re-imagined fl ying-boat design. He died a week before his 100th birth- day, on Nov. 26, 1980. Dian Missar passed away last week. She was a founding member of the Black- berry Pie Society and served as our secre- tary for many years. Her moral certitude combined with her unwavering, yet gentle approach to progressive political activism sustained the Blackberry Pie Society’s creative, fun and innovative approach to raising political awareness in Cottage Grove. We will carry on without her, but we will never stop asking ourselves, ‘What would Dian do? What out-of-the-ordi- nary idea would she come up with?’ We will do our best to imagine the an- swer, but we are all well aware we can never replicate or even emulate what she would have done or said. Dian was our creative rudder, and we miss her as will countless others in the Cottage Grove community that she so loved and nur- tured. The Cottage Grove Blackberry Pie Society: Cathy Bellavita Leslie Rubinstein Steve Kilston Julie Parker Gail Hoelzle Alice Doyle Brian Forge Freedom of speech is protected If there is any truth to what I heard on NPR this morning than we should be shocked. Donald Trump would, if elected, pro- poses to bring libel suits to all press or- ganizations that have ever made false ac- cusations or lies against him. (NPR this Saturday morning on KLCC at 9 a.m.). Anyone who has ever read the U.S. Constitution will see that the First Amend- ment specifi cally protects the freedom of speech of everyone. Donald Trumps’ lat- est comment really is an insult to freedom of speech, and to the Constitution. Just be- cause he disagrees with press coverage is well known. That he would make threats to curtail this puts him in good company with Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has no regard for one of our most dear rights. Do we want to live in a society where the press is censored or even self-censors it- self out of fear of reprisals? Charles Ames Cottage Grove Other costs? I just read the article outlining the costs for the proposed new tax levy regarding the building of the new Harrison school and all the other costs. As I was going down through the list of items wanted with the new bond levy, I read the “other costs” item totaling $6,173,285. If this tax bond is going to get my ‘yes’ vote, I want to know what the other $6 million-plus is exactly. I know of no one who would give me a loan for “other costs” without knowing exactly what I was asking for. I believe it is only by being fair and be- ing transparent with the bond amount that a passage of the bond will succeed. And by the way, I did vote yes for the new high school, but a voter must have better infor- mation on where our hard-earned money will be going. Rod Cameron Cottage Grove Editor's Note: In a Monday meeting, South Lane Superintendent Krista Par- ent said that many of the "Other Costs" concern the furnishings, building per- mits, fees, etc. necessary to build the new Harrison Elementary School. Par- ent also stated that she would request an itemized list of those costs from BLRB Architects, a list that will appear in an upcoming Sentinel. (Sources: Slate Aircraft Co. Website, slateaircraft.com; Benton County Historical Society, bchsnow. org; Flight Magazine, Feb. 7, 1929; Radecki, Alan. “Slate’s Strange Di- rigible,” vintageairphotos.blogspot. com, 20 Aug 2013) Green vegetables protect the heart BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel G reen leafy vegetables are superior to other foods in their nutrient density, and un- surprisingly, greater intake of leafy greens is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Greater consumption of cruciferous vegetables (a family of vegetables known for their $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ADMINISTRATION: JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher.............................. GARY MANLY, General Manager................942-3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com ROBIN REISER, Sales Repersentative...............942-3325 Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com TAMMY SAYRE, Sales Repersentative......... 942-3325 Ext. 213 • tsayre@cgsentinel.com SPORTS DEPARTMENT: SAM WRIGHT, Sports Editor...................942-3325 Ext. 204 • sports@cgsentinel.com CUSTOMER SERVICE CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager.................942-3325 Ext. 201 • billing@cgsentinel.com LEGALS.............................................................942-3325 Ext. 200 • legals@cgsentinel.com NEWS DEPARTMENT: JON STINNETT, Editor......................................942-3325 Ext. 212 • cgnews@cgsentinel.com GRAPHICS: RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager (USP 133880) Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: Ten Weeks ............................................. $9.10 One year ..............................................$36.15 e-Edition year .......................................$36.00 Rates in all other areas of United States: Ten Weeks $11.70; one year, $46.35, e-Edition $43.00. In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2015 Cottage Grove Sentinel. anti-can- cer effects, it includes many leafy greens such as kale, cab- bage and bok choy), are simi- larly asso- ciated with lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and from all causes. Oxidative stress is known to be a signifi cant contributor to the development of cardiovascu- lar disease. Our antioxidant de- fenses are a combination of di- etary compounds and the body’s own antioxidant enzymes, and there is evidence that when we eat cruciferous vegetables, their phytochemicals signal the body to produce its own protective antioxidant enzymes by activat- ing a protein called Nrf2. Nrf2 is a transcription factor, a protein that can increase or decrease the expression of cer- tain genes. Nrf2 works by bind- ing a specifi c sequence present in genes called the antioxidant response element (ARE). In the presence of certain phytochemi- cals, Nrf2 travels to the nucleus of the cell to induce that cell to produce natural antioxidant enzymes and protect against in- fl ammation. Essentially, Nrf2 is a messenger through which ben- efi cial phytochemicals from the diet turn on the body’s natural antioxidant and anti-infl amma- tory protection mechanisms. For example, one study on sulforaphane (a phytochemical found in broccoli) showed that once activated, Nrf2 suppresses the activity of adhesion mol- ecules on the endothelial cell surface to prevent binding of in- fl ammatory cells and therefore retard atherosclerotic plaque development. Another study showed that sulforaphane and other isothiocyanates (crucifer- ous vegetable phytochemicals), by activating Nrf2, blocked in- fl ammatory gene expression and oxidative stress in endothe- lial cells inhibiting aging of the vascular tree. Sulforaphane also helps maintain the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, a vas- cular system that is crucial for proper brain tissue function, via activation of Nrf2. The point is that cruciferous vegetables are essential for excellent health and promotion of maximum lifespan. Other phytochemicals that can activate Nrf2 include an- thocyanins (found in berries), EGCG (found in green tea) and resveratrol (found in grapes and peanuts). Exercise may also ac- tivate Nrf2. In contrast, smoking suppresses the protective actions of Nrf2; human endothelial cells exposed to the blood of smok- ers compared to non-smokers showed decreased Nrf2 ex- pression, reducing antioxidant defenses. Not surprising that smoking and green vegetables have opposite effects! Research on phytochemicals and the protective effects Nrf2 is still in its early stages, and as we learn more, we can expect exciting advances in the under- standing of how phytochemicals work to promote health and ex- tend lifespan. Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a board certifi ed family physician specializing in life- style and nutritional medicine. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to news- questions@drfuhrman.com. Letters to the Editor policy The Cottage Grove Sentinel receives many letters to the editor. In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local readers. Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary. If you would like to submit an opinion piece, Another View must be no longer than 600 words. To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent electronically via email or electronic media. Hand written submissions will be accepted, but we may need to call to verify spelling, which could delay the publishing of the submission.